


And What Happened After

by herewandering



Series: DadInnit AU [2]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Canon-typical language, Gen, Parent TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), This is about the characters not the ccs, artist tommyinnit, this au can fit so much canon divergence in it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-16 03:00:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29569272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/herewandering/pseuds/herewandering
Summary: Tommy's been gone five years, and now that's back things are different. Different, but better.Second part of my DadInnit AU, the first fic provides a lot of context.
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s), Wilbur Soot & Technoblade & TommyInnit & Phil Watson, karlnapity and niki/puffy are married
Series: DadInnit AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2133036
Comments: 81
Kudos: 539





	1. Two Hundred Sixty Weeks Since I Saw Vienna

**Author's Note:**

> Tommy reunites with everyone in the Dream SMP and finally settles some old scores.

In L’Manberg’s national anthem, it speaks of its people rising like a phoenix. Tommy feels that now. The fire in his lungs is fuelled by the sharpness of the winter air. Cold invades his body but it melts away. Child-like glee makes him grin the same way he did way back when. Exile burnt him when he thought he was fire-proof. He crumbled down to ash. Like L’Manberg, he rises from the grave they buried him in. 

Phil pours tea for them inside his cabin. Near Techno’s, three more houses have risen up. Phil’s is the most aesthetically pleasing, Tommy figures it could use a garden out front. They tied up the horses outback, the younger boys buzz with silent excitement when they enter and look around. Charlie stays firm in wanting to wait outside, his eyes never leave the scabbard on Phil’s hip. Tommy coaxes his eldest inside with the promise of warm green tea and that he can hold the baby. Shifting uncomfortably, Charlie stands in the corner of the room with one hand on Clementine and another very loosely gripping his cup of tea. Tommy can tell that the second something mildly negative happens the tea will be replaced by a firm grip on his blade. 

Icarus, on the other hand, can barely wait until Phil’s poured the tea to start chirping and fluttering about. His wings puff up as he stares down Phil’s wings. Tommy realizes they’re practically the same colour and he knows Icarus is _dying_ to ask about them.  
Tommy pats his back and whispers to him, “It’s okay big man, go ahead.”  
Giving a hesitant nod, Icarus takes a big breath and loudly exclaims, “I have wings also! I’m super good at flying!”  
A bit of tension leaves Phil’s shoulders because he can’t help but smile, “How old are you, mate?”  
“I’m ten! Will my wings get as big as yours? Can you fly super high? Can you teach me?”  
“Maybe, yep, and...well, you’ll have to ask Tommy about that one.”  
Icarus’ eyes go wide with excitement, “Dad!”  
“If Phil’s not busy and Charlie can supervise, he’d probably lose his head if I left you alone with big man Philza Minecraft.” Chuckles Tommy, gently poking fun at Charlie.  
Phil looks over to the teenager, who nods in agreement. He wonders what exactly he’s done to warrant such a reaction from the child. 

He hums to himself, sitting and answering Icarus’ hundreds of questions. He learns all the children’s names, what they like, why they like Tommy so much, and a billion other anecdotes about their life. Though Charlie looks much too similar to Tommy at sixteen, Icarus is a chilling portrayal of what Tommy was like as a boy. Whether he likes it or not, his long-lost-son is a man now. A man with responsibilities and overgrown blonde hair brushed back into a ponytail. A man wearing a long brown jacket that he recognizes in an instant. A man who hung a red and white cape up when he entered the door. More than anything, Phil wants to reach out and touch him to make sure this isn’t some crazy fever dream, because Icarus is what Tommy was. Excitable and defiant, while also being observant and loyal without fault. They look _worlds_ different, but the fiery sparkle in his eye is the same. 

He never gets a good look at Clementine and doesn’t speak a word to Charlie. Percy spends most of the time warming up to Phil very gently. While Icarus entertains Phil with wild stories and slashes pretend monsters in the air, Percy sits in Tommy’s lap and undoes his ponytail. On occasion, Phil’s eyes drift towards the pair. Tommy looks effortlessly kind, Percy works his hands through his father’s hair and makes shoddy attempts to braid it. Charlie starts to calm when they get closer to the hour mark, he lets himself hold the cup with both hands. Phil tries to make conversation.  
“You alright, mate?”  
“I’m fine.”  
Tommy gives Phil a look across the table that tells him he won’t be able to make strides with Charlie for a long time. 

He sort of pieces it together when the door swings open and his cup immediately hits the ground. The boy’s got a fierce grip on the handle of his sword and an even fiercer one on his little sister. Instinctively, Icarus moves to stand by him. The younger runs his fingers over his older brother’s clenched fist. Phil watches the oldest child map escape routes in his mind, eyes darting to every possible exit. When they share a glance, he watches Charlie’s eyes fill with fear.  
“Phil, did you get new horses?” A deeper voice calls from the front door, there are sounds of him taking off his cloak and then...a pause.  
“Do you have guests?”  
“Techno, you might wanna come in here, mate.”  
Phil watches Charlie completely freeze at the mention. Icarus scrambles in his pocket for a piece of blue fabric and he pries it between his brother’s fingers. Percy notices the shift in his sibling’s behaviour and floats over to join them. Tommy stands and directs the children into another room. The door shuts behind them just as Technoblade enters. 

“Tommy?”  
Spinning and giving the best smile he can, Tommy grins nervously at his older brother, “Eyyyy! Hello Blade!”  
It’s not even a moment before Techno rushes him. For a second Tommy is scared, completely petrified. Until he realizes he’s not being crushed to hurt, but being absolutely destroyed in a hug. Techno’s always been massive compared to him. He’s a piglin, for christ’s sake, but now he feels dwarfed by him. Tommy is engulfed by the first hug he remembers sharing with Techno since he was very little.  
“Techno, you-you’re _crushing_ me! I know you miss me but-”  
“Tommy, shut up.”  
He listens, god, for once he _listens_. Because when Techno eases up, he takes the back of Tommy’s head and cradles it into his shoulder. One hand holding his head, the other directly over where his heart must be. Tommy sees his ears twitch, it clues in. He’s listening to his heartbeat. 

“You’re alive,” Mumbles Techno, much less confident-sounding than Tommy had ever heard.  
“I’m sorry. Techno, Techno I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to I just-You-He-I couldn’t-” Tommy’s breath shakes and his eyes well up, how long has it been since he’s been treated this gently by his family?  
“It’s fine, Tommy. It’s…” Techno stutters and his breath falters too, “He said he’d killed you.”  
“That...that must’ve hurt like a bitch.”  
“Yeah. Something like that.”  
Techno pulls back and takes Tommy’s face in his hands.  
“What in the _world_ were you doing for five years?” His older brother reprimands, teasing and giving a small smile.  
Tommy shrugs, “Eh, picked up some art, did some real zen shit! You know, I lived on a mountain Technoblade, and it was taller than your _shit_ mountain behind your house!”

“He also picked up four children,” Phil says from his place at the table.  
Techno _immediately_ turns on Tommy, “You _what_?”  
Tommy laughs and pushes himself free of Techno’s hold, “It is true! I am a real dilf, as the kids say!”  
“Tommy I love you, but if you say that again I will kill you.” Deadpans Techno.  
“Agreed!” Phil follows, despite trying not to laugh.  
“You two are still not very funny! Gimme a sec, I’ll see if the oldest will graciously allow me to borrow his siblings.”  
Tommy pops into the other room for a moment and returns with two small children. Phil notices their dynamic has changed. The second Percy sees Techno he makes a beeline for him, Icarus stays back and offers a small wave. Percy floats all around Techno excitedly, making a multitude of soft ghastly noises. Techno, despite being good at most things is never good with kids. He can only wave and smile awkwardly at the small child who is making plenty of noise. 

“Pig! Pig! Pig!” The little boy screeches, he turns and looks at his brother, “Nether! Home!”  
“Percy, you _know_ who Technoblade is! Of _course_ he’s a pig!” Icarus storms over to Techno, stands defiantly in front of him, and extends a hand.  
“My name is Icarus and that’s my little brother Percy. We have a big brother named Charlie, but he hates your guts, and we have a baby sister named Clementine but Charlie won’t let you see her.”  
Techno’s eyes go wide at the names, and after shaking Icarus’ hand, stares at Tommy blankly.  
“You named your kids _Icarus_ and _Percy_? _Icarus_ and _Perseus_!?”  
This sends Tommy into a very familiar angry rant that makes Phil and Techno beam, “They came with those names you massive fucking dickhead! By the way, fuck you so hard for calling me Theseus! Theseus is such a fucking _prick_ , if I saw Theseus in a dark alleyway past nine pm GMT I would shank him! He is a _wrongin_!” 

The front door slams open and fast footsteps come rolling in, “Why the _fuck_ is it so loud over here Philza Minecraft!?”  
The newest arrival shouts as they enter, “I am trying to write music _Philza Minecraft_ , you can’t-”  
When Tommy comes face to face with, what appears to be, a living _breathing_ version of _Wilbur_ his heart stops.  
“...Tommy?” Techno moves and sits by Phil at the table, Percy follows suit, and Icarus stands and stares.  
He’s as tall and lanky as he was years ago, with the same fluffy brown hair, the same wire-rimmed glasses. His skin is not grey, his eyes aren’t white. His eyes are _brown_. _Brown_.  
“Wilbur!?” Tommy nearly _crumbles_ , because _this_ wasn’t expected.  
He knew he’d see Tubbo, He knew Techno would be there, everyone would be there but Wilbur. For years he lived with the fact that he’d never really see his older brother again. His eyes water and after a few sniffles he begins to cry. 

Wilbur takes a few swift steps and gives Tommy a gentle hug. Tommy grabs onto Wilbur’s soft yellow sweater and takes a deep breath.  
“You’re _alive_ ,” Tommy whispers, Wilbur chuckles.  
“Yeah, so are you! We’re both shocked!”  
“Wilbur-” Tommy shakes a little, Wilbur pulls back and looks at Tommy with a smile.  
“Tommy, take a deep breath, I’m fine, hell! You’re fine! You’re all healthy! And living! You look like Philza, dude!” The pair both laugh, Wil wipes the tears from Tommy’s cheeks.  
“I do look like him, don’t I? Quite stupid if you think about it! He didn’t even make me!”  
“Hm,” Wilbur reaches forward and ruffles Tommy’s long wavy hair, “You’ve got to let me braid your hair dude, it’s getting in your face.”

Neither of them notices Icarus standing next to them until Tommy feels him yank on on his jacket. Tommy looks down and sees his son genuinely _shy_ for the first time.  
“Wh-Oh. _Oh_.” He realizes _why_ Icarus is nervous and chuckles, “You nervous to meet your hero, big man?”  
“Uh-Tommy-That’s a child-Who’s his hero?”  
“I’ve got kids now, man!” Tommy smiles and Wilbur tries to process that as quickly as possible, “Icarus, go on hun.”  
With a large breath, Icarus tries to get it out as politely as possible, “Uh-Well-Excuse me, are-uhm-are you President Soot?”  
Wilbur’s eyes go wide, Phil and Techno both become taken aback. Wil takes a knee and gets down to Icarus’ level, giving him a smile.  
“President Soot?” Wil asks, Icarus can’t meet his eyes. 

“Uh-Uhm...You know...The President of L’Manberg! I-Uh-Dad had a flag above his bed, and I asked for-Uhm-I asked for a flag, and I got one! Me and-Uh, Me and Charlie play L’Manberg all the time! Since...Uhm-Well, since you’re so cool and strong, I always play you! And we win! Because L’Manberg is about good and happiness and being together! But...well...you know that...because you are him, right?”  
Wilbur is teary-eyed by the end of Icarus’ nervous speech, and Tommy has to hold back a verbal “awe”. Phil and Techno stare at the boy from the kitchen table, sharing a solemn look.  
“I-Yeah, I-I made L’Manberg.” Mutters Wil, looking shocked and disbelieving.  
Icarus fiddles with his shirt, looking guiltily at the ground, “Sorry...It’s probably weird…”  
“No! No, no no, it’s okay! I just-It’s...Nobody’s called me that in a very long time.” Wil reaches out and takes Icarus’ hand, Icarus finally looks up and they make eye-contact. 

“Icarus, that’s your name, right?” Wilbur asks, and Icarus nods.  
Looking at Tommy for permission, Tommy has a feeling he’s missing something so he queues Wilbur to speak, “Buddy, L’Manberg is gone.”  
Tommy takes a second to breathe because somehow he knew this was coming. It’s not that much of a surprise. Dream wouldn’t just let him leave like that.  
Icarus becomes confused and stares blankly at Wilbur, then looks around to each adult, “But it’s...It comes back! It’s in the song!”  
“Bad people took L’Manberg, they made it different. A bad guy took L’Manberg away just after your dad left. I’m sorry.” Wilbur says it so carefully, and Tommy gently puts a hand onto Icarus’ back.  
Icarus takes a huge deep breath, his eyes brim with tears, and he shouts for his older brother, “Charlie!”  
The door to the other room whips open and Charlie rushes to his brother, strong grip on his now unsheathed weapon. He grabs Icarus away from the adults and swoops him into a corner. 

Sleeping Clementine rests against his chest, Charlie keeps his sword hand extended near the adults, his free one holding Icarus around the middle.  
“What’s wrong? Who did it?” The adults all stare, save for Tommy, who moves to stand near his sons and watch over them.  
“L’Manberg is gone!” Icarus cries, the first few tears rolling down his face.  
Charlie scoffs, wiping away the tears, “Wh-Well, yeah. L’Manberg is about the past.”  
“But it’s real!” Sniffles Icarus, wiping his cheeks with his hoodie, getting a sigh from his older brother.  
“And from a very long time ago. Icarus, of course L’Manberg is _physically_ gone.” Charlie tuts, keeping a safe hold on the upset boy.  
With a loud scoff, Icarus becomes stubborn, “What do you mean physically gone?”  
“It’s in your heart, dumbass. L’Manberg is a metaphor in a story about heroes, just like Icarus.”

“Icarus was a story about not doing bad things though…” Icarus pouts, nearly making Charlie crack a smile.  
“So is L’Manberg. If it’s gone now, it’s about…” Charlie pauses, thinking for a second, “It’s about growing up.”  
“How?” Whines Icarus, Charlie pinches one of his feathers for the whiny tone.  
“Because when it’s little, it’s like Clementine or Percy. It’s all about being good and happy. But when you’re old like us, things start being sad or angry. Bad things start to happen.”  
Another bubbling pouty tone fills the space in the room, “But... _bad_ things are _bad_!”  
Charlie gives Icarus a squeeze, “And what would Percy say to that, huh?”  
“Being sad is good, and it makes you grow…” Sighs Icarus, moving to gently pat Clementine on her head.  
“Yeah. Exactly.” Charlie moves his arm and ruffles his hair, raising his voice to argue “Now don’t scare me again like that, I thought you got hurt!”  
“I did! Emotionally!” Icarus shouts back gently smacking Charlie’s shoulder.  
Laughing, Charlie pinches his brother’s cheek, “You are such a little shit, you know that?” 

Phil watches this, and he stares. It hits him, in an instant, that his twenty-one-year-old son is a better father than he was. His oldest, even with a sword and a terror in his eyes, is _gentle_ and _sweet_. The younger, even petulant and wild, calms when he’s shown a very _personal_ kindness. The sword-wielding eldest is the one Tommy trusts the _most_ with the children as young as infancy. The excitable and childish younger with a _thousand_ questions is trusted more than Tommy was as a _war veteran_. They love each other and it’s not a question. The _second_ Icarus was upset he called for his older brother and he came. He came and he made it _better_. And even then, Tommy knows he can trust his children to help each other. He watches them and makes sure they can get help if they need it, he’s _there_. They’re safe. Things are strange and new, they’re surrounded by strangers, but they rely on each other. Something in Phil’s heart _aches_ and wishes he could go back. It’s not a new feeling. 

Wilbur, always the charmer of the group, is the first to make a move towards the boys.  
“You can come to see the crater if Tommy says it’s okay,” He smiles kindly, and Icarus smiles back.  
Charlie, however, stares up at the man and is taken aback, “Are-Wait-”  
The eldest stares between his father and his younger brother who both nod, “Holy fucking _shit_.”  
In an instant, he’s stood at attention like a soldier giving him a small salute, Icarus follows after. Over at the table, Percy salutes too. Tommy laughs, more than used to the antics of his children, but something in Wilbur _aches_ at the sight. Charlie looks eerily similar to Tommy, and it sends him reeling. They look like little soldiers. 

Wil can’t really comprehend how viscerally disturbing the idea of children “playing L’Manberg” is. Even more so, the young boys giving him a salute reopens the hole in his heart where L’Manberg used to reside. These children pretend to play what was a real war. Whether Tommy intended them to become this attached or not is anyone’s guess, Wilbur thinks it was accidental. Passion and genuine care for the beautiful corpse of L’Manberg lie gently in the eyes of another set of children. Even after they know it’s gone. And Wilbur, himself, the man who was driven insane by his own creation, is their hero. Even after everything, Tommy taught them about the kind and passionate leader. Tommy told them about his older brother, Wilbur Soot, President of L’Manberg. Not exiled and deteriorating Wilbur. Not overly cheery and entirely too hurt Ghostbur. _Wilbur. Wil._ His older brother, a kind man with a yellow sweater and a dream. It is an expression of love that he cannot comprehend after what his brother’s been through at his hand.  
“You can’t keep saluting me! Or calling me President Soot! Wilbur’s fine! Or Uncle Wilby, if you’d like.” 

The four adults sit together at the table for the first time in years. The four children play together in the next room, they can all hear Icarus giving orders as if he were a general. It’s been so long that they’re each worried about what to say for far too long. They’ve never been great at communicating just how much they care about each other. Tommy knows that, and for today he’s patient. He sits across from Phil and Techno, but right beside Wil. Wil is silent, tightly gripping Tommy’s hand and running his thumb over the scarred skin. To everyone’s surprise, Techno breaks first.  
“Dream’s in jail. Has just one canon life left.”  
Tommy nearly flips the table out of rage, “Why didn’t you just take them all?”  
“I took one, Tubbo took one, the last one’s yours. Well...In spirit. I guess.” Techno shrugs, staring daggers into the table wood to avoid eye contact.  
He calms instantly at Tubbo’s name, “ _Tubbo_. How-He’s alright, yeah?”

“Oh, yeah. I mean, grief aside, Tubbo’s fantastic.” Techno replies, happy to change the subject.  
“I’m glad to hear it! Tubbo’s a big man, figured he’d handle himself alright!” Smiling, Tommy throws his free hand in the air to celebrate.  
“Well…” Continues Techno, and Tommy freezes.  
“Well, what?”  
“When Tubbo...When Dream-He-Well, he told us, y’know...He killed you. He blew up the community house, he blew up L’Manberg...Tubbo and I-”  
Phil cuts in and continues for him, Techno seems thankful for it, “Techno and Tubbo went fucking mental. Ended up teaming and beating the shit out of the green bastard. Nobody else even dared to get close. Tubbo was more brutal than Techno was.”  
Finally looking up, Techno meets Tommy’s gaze, “He got one life, I got one, then Sam dumped him in the prison.”  
For the first time in a while, he feels childishly angry, because if anyone deserved to die it was Dream, “Why let him keep the last life!? Throw him to the dogs, why don’t you!?”

“Because he could resurrect the dead.” This makes Tommy double-take, and he stares Wilbur dead in the eyes.  
Wil continues, using a thumb to trace numbers up to ten into Tommy’s skin, “Ghostbur didn’t take your ‘death’ well, Tommy. Blamed himself something fierce. Practically threw himself in front of Techno when Dream said he could bring people back. Yelled and screamed and begged to have me brought back.”  
The numbers allow Tommy to think. One to ten. Simple. He takes deep breaths and calms as best he can, trying to make sense of what the world’s become. He takes comfort in the gesture.  
“What’s this got to do with Tubbo? I mean, you turned out alright! You’re okay looking! Is Tubbo okay?” Asks Tommy, still raising his voice.  
Phil reaches across the table and takes his free hand, Tommy doesn’t pull away, “Mate, Tubbo made nukes. I mean, they proved useful, but damn if it didn’t shock us all. Funnelled all his time making...these huge explosives. We didn’t really think it was all that healthy.”  
Wil’s tone moves to a whisper, comforting the best he can, “He got a little obsessed. I think I actually managed to help him out of it. Shared experience and all.”  
Techno ruins Tommy’s calm immediately, “He’s better now. Has his own little area, calls it Snowchester. He barely stays there though, he mostly stays with Ranboo in the house out back.”

“Wait you-You mean Tubbo’s _here_!?” Shouts Tommy, ripping himself away from his father and brother.  
“Mh...Maybe?”  
Tommy’s flung himself from his seat in an instant and out the back door, he races to the little house and bangs on the door furiously.  
“Tubbo!” Tommy shouts, his feelings overwhelming him again, “Tubbo answer the door!”  
From an upstairs window, someone peers out, “Why are you shouti-Oh my god-”  
Taken aback, the young man stares down at Tommy and tries to take it all in, his red and green eyes bore into Tommy as if trying to make out if he’s real.  
“Ranboo, get Tubbo! I need to see Tubbo!” Tommy shouts at the young man, who looks basically the same as he did when Tommy left. 

Ranboo stares into the room behind him and then there’s a commotion. Tubbo peers through the window, recognizes Tommy, and vaults out the window and down the side of the house. Scrambling through snow, the pair grab for each other frantically and hold for dear life. It takes forever for them to even pull back enough to look each other in the eyes. Tommy grabs a hold of Tubbo’s head and plants a kiss on his temple. Tubbo looks different too. His once shaggy hair is now short and well-kept, he’s got more burn scars than Tommy can count. Once upon a time, his best friend had worn a green button-down for nearly every occasion, now he dons a red and green winter sweater. Tommy’s fairly sure it’s a Christmas sweater but he couldn't care less about that. Right at the ends of his fingertips is someone who he thought he lost such a long time ago. 

“I’m sorry,” Is the first thing that spills from Tommy, tears follow shortly.  
Tubbo is equally as choked up, “You should be! You’re supposed to be _dead_! What are you _doing_ here!? How are you _here_!?”  
“I ran away, Tubbo, I’m sorry,” Tommy is muttering, their dynamic feels so different because he’s the one apologizing, it’s so long overdue.  
Tubbo’s grief-stricken face gives it all away, a sweatered hand winds back and hits him in the chest, “I searched for you! We went fifteen thousand blocks in every direction! There wasn’t a trace of you _anywhere_! How the _fuck_ did you survive!?”  
After Tubbo’s shouting, Tommy gives him a moment to breathe before he begins to recount his years, “I was forty thousand blocks out, I was just...I was far. I settled down and shit Tubbo! Built lots of nice-looking buildings, started doing art and shit, became a father like Philza Minecraft, I've done so much Tubbo. I-God I missed you-”  
Still grasping Tommy tightly, unwilling to pull away, Tubbo smiles sadly, “Who’s the clingy one now, huh?”  
“Still you, big man.” 

Ranboo joins them quickly after, hugging Tommy almost as tight. They talk as long as time allows. Ranboo and Tubbo explain all the antics they’ve gotten into across the years, Tommy shows them his journal full of drawings and they marvel at his skill, they laugh like they did when they were children. They feel that way again somehow. Nothing is broken, nothing is breaking. Tommy is okay, Tubbo is okay, Ranboo is okay. They’d not hung out with all three of them very much pre-exile, Tommy realizes how much _fun_ it is to have them both there. Even when they’re just talking, Tommy is in stitches. Tommy does end up telling them about his children, and both call his bluff. 

That is, until Tommy takes them into Phil’s house and introduces them to all the children. Clementine, now awake, is obviously Tubbo’s favourite. Percy seems to be Ranboo’s. Icarus finds them both very cool, and Charlie takes to Tubbo enough to let Tubbo hold the baby. While Tubbo and Ranboo bond with the kids, Tommy messages every single person on the server save for Dream and tells them to meet him at the L’manberg crater tomorrow. He helps Phil make dinner, Percy insists on helping with anything he can. Techno sets the table with Icarus who asks him all kinds of questions. There isn’t _technically_ enough room at the table for the entire family but they just pull up chairs and let it be. Almost everyone seems to get along well, but Charlie still sits in the furthest corner of the room. Tommy hasn’t had the need for a family table this big ever. It may just be about time to invest in making one. 

Until Tommy can make himself a house, they separate and sleep in different houses. Charlie takes Clementine and stays with Tubbo and Ranboo. After lots of compromise with the over-protective oldest, Percy is allowed to stay with Tommy at Phil’s during the nights. Wilbur gladly takes Icarus to his little cottage and promises to tell him all about what really happened at L’Manberg. It’s not the mountain, Tommy knows that. But this place, over-crowded and filled with happy energy, is home. He’s _home_. He will raise his children here. It is safe. Before bed, he mutters his mantra to the ceiling.  
“My name is Tommy Innit, I am twenty-one years old. I am home and I am safe. Things will be okay.”

When he meets with everyone the next day, they show up as a unit. It’s a momentous occasion. Big Q and Fundy lose their minds, hugging Tommy hard and shouting to the rooftops. Karl and Sapnap celebrate alongside them, happily offering swift hugs and pats on the back. Puffy and Niki arrive holding hands, and rush Tommy when they see him, hugging him and sharing how grateful they feel that he’s alive. Bad arrives with Skeppy, and he expected to be a little more apprehensive about seeing Bad considering how much he used to tease the man. He’s surprised when Bad cries about how much they all missed him. Ponk, Punz, Lazar, Purpled, Antfrost, and Callahan all celebrate accordingly, welcoming him back a little gentler but still just as pleased. HBomb and Eret are sweet and attentive to not only Tommy but the children, who Eret ends up playing L’Manberg with. George showed up late, but still gave Tommy a smile and a kind greeting. There are even some new faces who come to greet the man of legend. Foolish and Hannah are wonderful. Hannah kicks his ass in PvP, and Foolish is a legend in building. Pictures of his summer home send them into a rant about architecture that nobody expects.

None of these really surprise him. It’s what he expects. Except for Sam. Now, Sam’s always been friendly with him. It’s no surprise that he’s emotional. Tommy doesn’t expect him to cry. Sam hugs him and apologizes for not helping. He mentions more than once that Tommy was just a kid and no kid deserves that. They end up talking about building for so long that Tommy nearly forgets other people are around. Sam offers to build Tommy’s new house. Tommy only accepts the offer after insisting he gets to help design and build the thing. It’s nice to come back to this. To everyone caring. To people emotional about his disappearance. They talk and party and have fun until the sun starts to set. 

While the party winds down, the world quiets. It’s calm. There’s no conflict. Talking is at a low level, loud noises could be heard fairly easily. As if from nowhere, the beat of a drum begins. It plays a familiar tune and all adults stop their words and look. Sitting and dangling his feet over the edge of the crater, Icarus plays his drum. He stares out into the pit and sings a tune.  
“I heard there was a special place,” Heads snap over to stare at the boy on the ledge, eyes widened at the song many haven’t heard in years.  
“Where men can go emancipate, the brutality and the tyranny of their rulers,” Wilbur takes a few steps forwards, as do some L’Manberg soldiers, letting the boy sing.  
“Well this place is real, you needn’t fret,” Icarus becomes aware he’s being watched and his song dies down to a beatless whisper, “With Wilbur, Tommy, Tubbo, fuck Eret…”

“It’s a very big and not blown up L’manberg,” Wilbur continues for him, “My L’Manberg, My L’Manberg.”  
“My L’Manberg, My L’manberg,” Icarus whispers out, eyes watering from a mixture of sadness and embarrassment.  
Moments after, Quackity starts the second verse, “For freedom and for liberty, our nation sought to build on these. A victory for all under democracy.”  
“Well the darkness came, and then it went,” Niki and Eret join the chorus, Wilbur picks up singing again.  
“We built a home and watched it sink,” Tubbo and Fundy sing along, all the L’Manberg residents move closer to the crater.  
“And from the rubble, there emerged L’Manberg.”  
The chorus is sung by every adult who fought for L’Manberg, regardless of status. Icarus is quiet but beats his drum, Charlie watches his brother from further away. 

After a silent moment, Tommy starts the third verse, “With bloodied hands and weakened knees, our people rose like the phoenix. Our empty fields and canals ‘round L’Mantree.”  
Anyone who knows the words joins and music swells throughout the area, “With sweat and tears, we armed our ranks. We laid foundations in our lands. And from every lip from here up to infinity-”  
The sun sets softly over the hills above the crater, casting gorgeous golden light onto the people of Dream SMP. Everyone, regardless of where they stood in the war, sings the last chorus.  
“We sing L’Manberg, We sing L’Manberg, We sing L’Manberg”  
It is beautiful and devastating and inspiring and all _too much_. For a child who is grieving L’Manberg for the first time, everyone sings. There is unity in the SMP. For one moment, no grudge ever existed. There is only music, only voices and the steady beat of a marching drum.  
“To our L’Manberg,” The adults finish, and it is quiet, there is something final to it that crushes the spirits of everyone quietly. The sunlight on the snow reflects tragedy in the moment. 

Everything changes in one moment. Guiding Percy through the crowds, Charlie makes his way to Icarus. He’s stopped drumming, tears rolling down his cheeks. He stands and thinks that will be it, they all think it’s _over_.  
Cutting through the silence is Charlie’s trembling whisper of a voice, “Though I have not stood here before,”  
The fourth verse starts. Wilbur forces back tears, as do many other L’Manberg residents.  
“I know the men who walked your floors,” Tommy feels himself weaken as Charlie’s voice gains strength, his son’s plum sweater rustles with the soft winter wind, he stares.  
From his pocket, Charlie pulls out a piece of fabric that unfolds into the L’Manberg flag, “And I’ve seen your flag, flying high above”  
“Inspiring us with hope and love” His voice raises, hoisting the flag into the sky and keeping a firm grip.  
Icarus flaps up, holding onto Charlie’s closed fist with one of his own. Percy grips on tightly to Charlie’s other hand, smiling brightly and humming out the melody.  
“So though you’re gone, the children sing L’Manberg!” Shouting across the crater Charlie unknowingly starts a brand new era. 

Maybe it can never come back. Maybe it will never be the same. But L’Manberg will be something. The adults can try all they want to rid themselves of it because for them it is tainted. L’Manberg is fighting. It is war. It is pain. For the children who are hoisting its flag now, it is hope. L’Manberg is a promise that things will get better, even if they fall apart. It drives Tommy to tears.  
“Our L’Manberg,” Charlie shout-sings, loud and clear amongst the quiet.  
“Our L’Manberg,” Icarus chips, letting his voice carry easily as if it’s meant to be heard.  
“Our L’Manberg,” Percy manages, it is soft and gentle, but there is a clear effort behind it that cannot be ignored.  
“Our L’Manberg,” They chorus, all three young boys.  
Wilbur, Tommy, and Tubbo recognize the silhouette it paints against the setting sky. One fearless leader, dead set in his mission, yelling at the world like it will come for them and just _daring_ it to face his wrath and _try_. One passionate head-strong fighter, bringing _life_ to the leader’s vision through simply _wanting it enough_. And one so constantly underestimated standing strong next to them, proving his merit without putting it all on the line, putting in _worlds_ of work just to make their vision a _reality_. 

Before bed that night, Wilbur takes Charlie aside and asks him why he did it.  
All he says is, “Icarus needs it more than I do.”  
Wilbur holds the gently sleeping Percy on his hip outside the cottage, “Don’t you deserve something to believe in?”  
“It’s more for them than me. They need to know...I need to teach them that there’s something worth fighting for.” Charlie shrugs, leaning forward to brush Percy’s hair away from his eyes.  
Chuckling, Wil adjusts Percy so Charlie can take off his glasses, “Pretty sure they’ve already got something worth fighting for, mate.”  
Gently sliding the frames off his little brother’s face, Charlie lets his guard down a touch and smiles softly. Wil just watches, but the pair end up standing and staring at each other. Obviously, something is on the boy’s mind, Wilbur makes the move to reach and grab it.  
“That crater’s pretty ugly, you think we should do something with it?”  
Despite the dark, Wil can tell Charlie is blushing in embarrassment, “...I did have _one_ idea.”  
“Atta boy!” He cheers in response, patting Charlie on the shoulder gently.  
Charlie doesn’t flinch. 

Sam asks Tommy to the prison the next morning. The boys decide to spend the day with Wilbur, and Tubbo offers to watch Clementine so Charlie can have fun. Tommy watches Charlie explain how babies are meant to be held to Tubbo, then he leaves. Clementine already adores Tubbo, Tommy assumes it’s a bee-to-Tubbo mental link. It’s a nice image to think of when he’s waiting in that huge obsidian box. It _terrifies_ him. He’s allowed to bring in a sword for the final blow, and The Friendship Sword is perfect. Cracking jokes with Sam doesn’t work on the way in, so he resigns himself to counting to ten. He tries to trace the numbers into his hand like Wilbur did to calm himself down. Sam lowers the ocean of lava and Tommy comes face to face with Dream. He counts to ten, he takes ten steps. Across the bridge, into the smaller obsidian box, and then shrouded by lava. 

“Tommy,” Dream begins.  
“No. Nope. You are a _sick green bastard_ , I’m not here to talk, Dream.”  
“Aw, but you’re so much fun, I missed you!”  
Tommy throws the first punch. He feels sixteen again. His hair comes loose from the shitty attempt at a braid he’d tried.  
“Wait-Tommy! Tommy! I’m-I’m your friend!”  
Tommy snaps back at Dream in an instant, “You haven’t been my friend in a long time. Five years, _five_! I got away from you for five years! I haven’t been your friend in longer! You didn’t have power over me anymore so you just fucked it all up for yourself and now you wallow in this little obsidian box!”  
“I don’t _wallow_ -” Dream starts, but Tommy hits him again.  
“And _I_ don’t want to hear it, you’re done Dream. Any final words?”

Instead of fighting back, instead of fleeing, Dream chuckles, “Shit! Tommy, you finally grew some balls! I never thought I’d see the day!”  
Tommy grabs Dream's face in a bruising grip and stares him down as he _laughs_ , “Dream hasn’t been here in a long time, Tommy.”  
“You’re batshit, you are.”  
Laughing still Dream continues, “Remember when Tubbo and Fundy tried to exorcise me? How they theorized that they kept the Dreamon and ditched the Dream? They were right, y’know. Imagine the look on their faces to know that now!”  
Taken aback Tommy lets him go, eyes widening, “Wh-Shit! Shit!”  
“Doesn’t that _scare_ you, Tommy? Sure, you could kill me, but you’ll just be killing Dream’s body. Even if you kill me, you’ll never-” The Dreamon’s babbling is cut off by Tommy’s jovial laughter.  
“Yeah, cut the shit dumbass. If you are a dreamon, that means you were never my friend! You just made this a cakewalk, shithead!” 

Tommy draws his weapon, “See this? This blade represents everyone who cares about me. I’m not just gonna leave them behind! I’ve run away too many times, this is it. I win, you lose. Our fighting is over.”  
The Dreamon tilts its head, if its body had facial features Tommy’s sure he’d be smirking, “What if someone brings me back?”  
“Yeah, over my dead body! Tell JSchlatt to suck it when you get to hell, bitch!” With one final shout and a slash to the heart, the Dreamon dies.  
Sam is supposed to be serious in the prison, but when Dream doesn’t respawn, he cheers along with Tommy. 

Somewhere, in the middle of the snowy woods, someone materializes. Icarus watches the figure flicker into being, grey-tinted slime-like skin without any features. His hoodie is bright lime green.  
“Hello!” Icarus calls, waving to the man.  
The man turns, tilts his head at Icarus, and without having a mouth shouts “Uh-Hi?”  
Flying over, Icarus extends a hand to the man, “My name’s Icarus! What’s yours?”  
Dream shakes the boy's hand as best he can while semi-corporeal, “I’m Dream...Where are we?”  
“Right by Technoblade’s house! It’s just that way!” Icarus points, knowing well enough that his name would offset any bad ideas the man might have.  
Trying to make sense of it all, Dream begins to pace, “Since when-Nevermind. Doesn’t matter. It’s fine. Kid, do you happen to know a guy called Tommy Innit?”  
“That’s my dad! Is he your friend?”  
Never has Dream had a faster and more lethal dose of whiplash hearing that Tommy Innit, who he last remembered as around fourteen, was a father, “He...He was...If he’s your dad it was probably a long time ago?”

His breathing picks up and his grey form starts to flicker, confusion is clouding his judgement more than anything.  
“Dream? Are you okay?”  
“I’m-uh-I’m kind of freaking out? This doesn’t make any sense-”  
Icarus thinks, then smiles, “Take a deep breath! Repeat after me!”  
“Okay…” He takes a large inhale, the boy giggles, most likely because he has no visible nose or mouth.  
“My name is, now say your name,”  
“My name is Dream,”  
With a hum, the boy grasps the space around where his hand would be, “I am not alone, I am safe,”  
He repeats and tries to will his hand into being, “I am not alone, I am safe,”  
“Things will be okay!” The boy cheers, because it works, and he pokes Dream’s skin in curiosity.  
“Things...Things will be okay…” Dream mutters, watching the child stare in wonder at his skin. 

Sun beats down through the pine needles, Dream stares at his now grey skin. Why he can’t remember much is beyond him, all he knows is he needs answers. The desire to find them is lessened slightly by watching a little boy stare at him in wonder.  
“Dream, you look so cool! I think you need a smile, though. We could get you a mask!”  
Dream laughs and just nods along, listening as the boy begins a tirade about masks and how it’s so cool he doesn’t have a face. He really _is_ Tommy’s kid, isn’t he?


	2. See How Far Down The Ocean Is Icarus?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Icarus begins to deal with separation anxiety and feelings of loneliness after all the big changes in his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW// This chapter includes manipulative behaviour, near-death experiences (ie; drowning), and implications of past childhood abuse and neglect. Please be careful while reading.//  
> Hope you enjoy! <3

Charlie and Wilbur start work on their project the next morning. People pass by the crater and see them working tirelessly to coat the entire place in a thick layer of dirt and grass, terraforming until the late hours of the night. 

They mostly attempt to avoid the houses, especially because Icarus cannot _stand_ being grounded and will attempt to make anyone in earshot as miserable as he is. Tommy has understandably also been fuming, and everyone has decided the best course of action is to give him space. At ten years old, he should know better than to invite _random strangers_ from _the woods_ into his house. Tommy was angier than Charlie was at the sight, which actually made Charlie double-take so hard he calmed down. After the attempts at stabbing Dream failed, Icarus was promptly grounded for bringing him into the house. George came by to pick him up and that was that. 

Until two days after when Icarus tried to subtly ask Sapnap if he knew where Dream was. Tommy added another two days of grounding and was lucky Sapnap found it funny. Apparently, after Icarus had brought him into the house they’d gotten along like wildfire. Dream had told him about his adventures, friends, and even taught him what speedrunning was. Over the week and a half he’s grounded he tries desperately to learn more about Dream and speedrunning, Tommy gives him no explanation. Charlie and Wilbur talk about Dream a little, and Charlie decides Dream is firmly on the list of adults he hates with a passion. Recalling Tommy’s reaction to the event makes everyone who was present visibly cringe out of second-hand embarrassment for Icarus. 

“ _Icarus you cannot bring fucking strangers into the god damn house! Dream is an extremely dangerous criminal and you endangered not only yourself but everyone on the server! You are so fucking grounded! I cannot believe this! I have taught you stranger danger! No playing L’Manberg and no going out! You are staying in this damn house until you learn not to trust random strangers! And don’t even get started on the ‘oh but we were strangers when we met Dad!’ shit! I was not a strange fuckin’ adult man! I was a scrawny ass teenager! Go to your room!_ ” 

Tommy barely calmed down for the next few days, letting out every frustration he had by going out and “stabbin’ shit” with Technoblade. It didn’t help that Tommy and Icarus were regularly butting heads over the issue. Both were petulant and stubborn about it, both insisting they were right. They’d argue over it any chance they got, much to everyone else's dismay. Phil had even sat down with Tommy and talked to him about his feelings, but Tommy just seemed more frustrated afterwards. Ergo, the trips with Technoblade. Charlie, despite being one to be overprotective, knows well enough not to stick his head where it doesn’t belong. Dream is far away, his family is calming down, and he is working on quite possibly the coolest thing he’ll ever do. 

Charlie accompanies Percy, Tubbo, and Ranboo to Snowchester on the second day of Icarus’ grounding. He’s not sure his dad has noticed the rings on their fingers yet. They’ve been back a total of four days, and Tommy hasn’t figured out they’re married. Charlie thinks it's funny, and he even asks why they got married. Apparently, it was from a mixture of platonic closeness, tax benefits, and their son Michael. Watching Percy meet Michael is wonderful. The second they’re introduced, both boys bounce off the walls. The combined noise of ghast shrieks and piglin oinks is enough to give all three a headache. Michael’s pet chicken, affectionately named Miriam, clucks behind them as the boys run around in the snow. Michael isn’t even much older than Percy, it’s nice to finally see Percy’s shyness melt away. Ranboo watches them most of the day while Tubbo gives Charlie a tour. Eventually, Charlie tells Tubbo about his old bandana and his picture on the wall of the mountain house. Tubbo hugs him, which scares the shit out of him. Charlie hugs Michael as well before he takes Percy back to the other houses, Percy spends so long using his limited vocabulary to tell everyone and anyone about his new friend. 

Nobody expects their heroes to be as funny, kind, and overall awesome as Wilbur is, so it doesn’t surprise Charlie when he’s one of the first few adults he learns to trust since he was little. He never pushes, never crosses a line, but gently teases in a way to ensure he knows it’s a joke. After only about a week of spending time with him, Charlie is comfortable enough to smile around him. And smile he does, because he learns so much about L’Manberg. For example, he had no idea it started off with a drug van but Charlie is determined to rebuild the sucker in their efforts. He learns how to use bone meal to make grass grow, and before they hit the two-week mark, the crater is coated in lush greenery and flowers. There are a few caves left open, and some waterfalls were left for ambiance. Smack in the middle of the crater is a sapling they’ve planted to represent the L’Mantree. Though it’s treacherous to get down at the moment, it is beautiful. 

The first time Charlie actually gets to speak to Quackity is during this whole building process. When he approaches, Charlie immediately is put on guard until he speaks.  
“Eyy! Wilbur! My man! What’re you doing in the crater?” Quackity calls down from the edge, his upbeat voice carries brightly.  
Wilbur throws an arm around Charlie’s shoulder and Charlie fights the urge to lean in closer, “Charlie here had the _brilliant_ idea! We’re sort of, well we’re making a memorial of sorts!”  
“Memorial makes it sound fucking depressing. We are not calling it a memorial. It’s a historical site.” Scoffs Charlie, crossing his arms and making a bigger huff than he normally would.  
“See, but that’s too boring! Big Q tell the child he’s boring!” They’ve been having this discussion about the name for a long time, basically the whole time they’ve been building.  
“I like historical, maybe not a site though,” Quackity’s moved down into the crater by now, and he puts his hands on his hips as he exclaims, “How about The L’Manberg Historical Sanctuary?”  
Charlie decides he likes Quackity. 

Somehow Quackity realized that Charlie never had much fun and decided in their first genuine meeting that he’s taking Charlie under his wing. He calls himself the boy’s “fun mentor” and efforts to teach Charlie how to lighten up. Of course, Karl gets caught up in it all as well, and Charlie denies up and down that he’s become attached. Maybe it’s because he knows he could take them in a fight, maybe it’s because he finds them approachable, maybe he’s just healing. It doesn’t matter. It really doesn’t. The reasons why are outweighed by its impact. When Quackity and Karl show up at the house to pick up Charlie and take him to get ice cream. When Karl shows up on his own and invites Charlie to visit his library. Tommy catches Big Q and Karl last of all the adults in the tundra. One night, Charlie’s out a lot later than usual, and he’s brought home by the pair. Tommy opens the front door to see Charlie _sleepy_ and leaning against Q’s shoulder, both arms wrapped around Quackity’s upper arm, tiredly muttering apologies for coming home late. It’s Charlie’s serene comfort amongst others that finally gets Tommy to calm.

That night, Tommy takes Charlie from Big Q, who whines about being separated. The two adults just laugh and promise to take him out again soon. He rests Charlie on the couch and makes them both some warm milk before bed.  
“You have fun tonight?”  
“Mhm,” Charlie mutters, utterly exhausted.  
Tommy chuckles, wondering what adventures he got up to, “What’s got you so tired?”  
“Hide-n-seek tag. Uncle Q said it’s essential for me to learn.” Yawning, Charlie takes sips of his drink like his younger brothers do.  
Tommy can’t help but smile, reaching a hand up to train it through his oldest’s hair, watching Charlie lean into the touch.  
“Dad?” The tired boy asks, eyes drooping and slurring his speech as if he’s nearly asleep.  
“Yeah, honey?” All anger he’s felt lately just fades watching Charlie, he takes the cup from his son and puts it down.  
“Can I sleep here?”  
Tommy adjusts, then guides Charlie to rest his head against his chest, finishing his drink. He carries the oldest to bed for the first time, relishing how young he looks asleep. His permanent scowl is gone, Tommy watches over him and pets his hair for almost thirty minutes before he ends up accidentally falling asleep on his bed. 

Though it embarrasses Charlie greatly later, mostly because Icarus teases him about it constantly, Tommy can’t forget how happy the boy has been since he’s bonded with Big Q and Karl. He is also reminded that he’s been favouring taking care of the younger ones too much. After some talking, Tommy schedules him a therapy appointment with Puffy. When the session ends Puffy messages Tommy and asks if she can take Charlie to tea with Niki, Bad, and Sam. When his oldest son returns that night, for the first time _ever_ , he won’t stop talking. He tells Tommy everything about what happened, everything he learnt, all the little details he noticed down to the different types of tea bad had. He seems _genuinely_ excited. It’s too bad that when he gets like this, Icarus tries to ruin it. 

Charlie shrugs it off, but every time Icarus interrupts him, he doesn’t talk like that again until next time he’s gone out and spent time with his favourite aunts and uncles. Icarus has been too overly energetic, almost as if over-compensating for something. He plays with Percy more than ever, leading him in games he certainly isn’t big enough for. The pair get more scrapes and bruises than Tommy can count. They even get their cousin Michael involved in the shenanigans. Icarus gets frustrated when the younger boys favour playing calmer games. It continues for months as Charlie prioritizes himself for the first time in a long time. Tommy plays with Icarus most of the time, but apparently, he doesn’t play King Eret as well as Charlie. In an attempt to make him feel better, Tommy arranges Icarus to have tea at Eret’s castle. 

Tommy supervises from a distance as Eret shows Icarus the museum and watches him light up. When he sees the colourful rainbow castle and is invited to sit on Eret’s throne, he is ecstatic. It’s strange because his son had always favoured Wilbur. Even when the boy asks embarrassing questions, Eret handles them with appropriate grace and elegance. The King had even gotten Icarus a hand-made red cloak to match the one they wear. He giggles for the whole visit about how funny it is that he plays Wilbur and is dressed up as Eret. Eret ends up absolutely _adoring_ the boy and offers to have him over once a week for tea and to play L’Manberg together. 

It takes Icarus’ mind off of the fact that Charlie is oftentimes too preoccupied to play with him now. It doesn’t help that his brother made him promise not to go to the L’Manberg crater. He’s not one to break a promise, and it tempts him. Eret reminds him in one visit that going back on his word could end up badly, and that Charlie surely has his best interests in mind. Is it his fault if he feels like he’s being ignored though? Sure, his dad is there, but two of his favourite people were running off to the crater every day without him. Wilbur even assures him it’s all going to work out, and while he knows Wilbur would never lie, it still hurts that he can’t know _now_. Eret eventually invites more people around for tea. He meets HBomb, who he thinks is very funny and is surprisingly very good at playing Eret in the L’Manberg game. Niki also comes along when she’s free, and Icarus loses it when she turns out to be so much cooler than most of the L’Manberg soldiers. He thinks Tommy undersold how cool she is. 

Sometimes Puffy will come to hang out with Eret and Aunty Niki. Icarus doesn’t like her as much. He’s heard about how she talks to Charlie about all his problems, and he’s certain that she isn’t doing as good of a job as he does. He’s obviously Charlie’s favourite still, isn’t he? Percy has a new favourite, and that’s okay. Michael is fun to play with, but both of them are too sensitive for the games Icarus likes to play. But he was never Percy’s favourite person, that was always Tommy. Ever since he’d met Charlie, he’d been his favourite. He acts out more when Puffy is around, blaming her for Charlie’s disappearances every day. She simply smiles and asks if he wants to talk about what's bothering him. He _does_ , but that isn’t the point. He has Charlie for that, usually. Going back to playing with Eret and Aunty Niki is hard when Puffy is there, for some reason she always seems sad when she sees him. Nothing is wrong with him! Nothing! He’s fine! 

Their new house is built beside Phil’s and he worms his way into getting a room in the attic. He’s got a huge window facing out into the snowy landscape, soft baby blue bedsheets, and a ceiling full of glow-in-the-dark stars. He stays up past his bedtime and watches Charlie and Wilbur walking home, more than once he falls asleep in the window waiting and mysteriously ends up in his bed. Adjusting takes time, and Icarus tries his best. March rolls in, it gets warmer. Percy’s birthday comes and he turns six _surrounded_ by love. Nearly every adult on the SMP brings him a present, and half stick around to celebrate. Tommy has to grab more chairs. Most of his new things are new clothes or plush toys. Sam gets him a beginner's Redstone kit, Percy plays with it all night. Icarus knows he shouldn’t be jealous, it’s just that while he’s sitting eating cake by himself, Charlie has his head serenely resting on the table in front of Percy, and Percy is showing him his work with every move. They’re moving on, they’re adjusting. They’re happy. Icarus has no clue why he isn’t. 

Then, they show him The L’Manberg Historical Sanctuary. It is finished in late March, a huge wooden museum and library are built into the far side. Spruce stairs allow movement down the lush field. At the bottom is a huge tree, representing the L’Mantree. In one of the caves behind a waterfall they’ve rebuilt the camarvan, it’s beautiful. The whole place is gorgeous. Icarus is mesmerized, so much so that he _begs_ Tommy to let them camp out that night. He falls asleep in lush grass, staring up at the stars. His lungs take in outdoor air and he breathes deep. Earth all around him, he rests. He’d dragged one of his blue blankets in with him, he holds it tightly and just stares at the gorgeous expanse of stars. Out in the sky are balls of fire and chemicals that burn hotter than anything he can comprehend. To him, they are just soft white sparkly dots against the navy blue spring sky. When he wakes up, he spends the entire day there. 

It isn’t until they get tourists that Icarus backs off. Word travels that there is a beautiful sanctuary, and people flock to see it. He spends most nights at home, but nearly every day he spends at least an hour in the sanctuary. Ideas to improve it come to him, he asks Tubbo about getting bees, he wonders passively about getting some cats for the area to keep creepers away. Most days, he’s seen on the roof of the library with his adventure book, a notebook, and a pen. Anything he can think up, he writes. Tommy decides to start another garden in the sanctuary, this time a public garden. The children all come together and help their father, save for Icarus. Icarus just watches. He becomes enamoured with books, dedicated to finding out anything he can about adventuring or speedrunning. When George spares a visit, Icarus literally crashes into him from the sky. George gives him some information and promises to bring some books on speedrunning to the library soon. It becomes almost obsessive. When George delivers the books, Icarus snatches them and retreats to his perch on the library. 

Seeing everyone come together is nice. It’s nicer to see the villagers start to pour in. Travellers, villagers, vacationers, all come to see the great L’Manberg Historical Sanctuary. They all giggle about the little avian hybrid making his perch on the roof, he always makes a point to smile and wave. From here, he can watch everyone. He watches his dad tend the garden and mess around with Tubbo and Ranboo. He watches Michael and Percy sit and draw under the shade of L’Mantree. He watches Charlie, always with one of the many adults he’s charmed somehow, start to smile more. It feels like they’ve traded now. Icarus scowls and pouts most of the time, he keeps to himself more. All the adults try to talk to him but he doesn’t budge. The only thing that gets through is Techno’s simple warning.  
“If you’re thinking of running, don’t. Tommy won’t let you go.”  
He hadn’t genuinely considered running away, he just wanted adventure. He didn’t want it _alone_. 

Clementine is a very easy person to get along with. Icarus starts to watch her more during the spring, just as visits are starting to increase. She never says anything dumb like the adults do, she never sighs or scowls. Anything he says is met with an excited smile. Her red hair is growing now, and curling just like his. Maybe she’s got the same mom, maybe she left them both behind. Her big dark eyes stare into his as she babbles baby noises. Even when they’re at breakfast with Tommy, Icarus pretends they’re really talking.  
It’s an honour when she reaches for him, making grabby hands, and shouting “Ba-ba!”  
Tommy and Charlie whip their heads around, as Icarus cheers.  
“Yes! Yes! Yes!” He flies up into the air and hits his head on the ceiling but doesn’t seem to care.  
Clementine giggles, Percy picks up the mood and also starts to cheer and giggle.  
Icarus looks outright victorious when he shouts, “I’m her _favourite_!”  
The two older blonds share a look and they both know what it means, Puffy gets a call from them that afternoon.

Puffy’s therapy doesn’t help. Latching onto adventuring and his little sister, the adults all begin to worry. Charlie and Icarus’ new fights aren’t helping. Nearly every day Icarus will instigate, pridefully puffing up his wings and sneering about how Clementine loves him most. She’ll never like him best. Charlie calls bullshit every single time, and Icarus gets angry. It always devolves into angry screaming, Tommy having to separate the pair to keep the house relatively sane. Tommy is trying and he is determined to fix it. Charlie is flying, and Icarus is falling. Can he get to him before he reaches the ocean is the only question. He sets up the first server-wide game of L’Manberg at the Sanctuary. Charlie playing Eret, Icarus playing Wilbur. He stands by the sidelines, letting Wilbur mock him through his “Tommy” performance. He allows it, but will certainly get him back for it later. It lasts a whole day. It’s intense and wonderful and full of whimsy that the original wars didn’t have. When they go home, Tommy asks Icarus if anything else could make him as happy as playing L’Manberg with everyone. Icarus’s smile droops a bit, looking into his pillow.  
“I wanna see Dream, please Dad?”

“Icarus…” Tommy sighs, sitting beside him on the bed, reaching up to gently pet his hair.  
“I know he’s a bad guy, but...”  
“But?”  
Icarus barely mumbles, turning into his pillow to muffle his voice. “But he was nice to me. And he liked that I’m energetic and I wanna adventure.”  
“He was nice to me too, that’s how he was able to hurt me,” Tommy admits, and Icarus turns to make eye contact.  
He thinks awhile, then mutters out, “That makes no sense…”  
“It’s called manipulation, people pretend to care about you so they can hurt you. Dream does it to everyone, he’s able to hurt people by being nice.”  
“What if he changed?” Wind howls past the window, the stars are out tonight and Tommy watches the hope in Icarus’ eyes flicker in the lamplight.  
“He didn’t. I promise he didn’t,” Tucking Icarus in tighter, the boy shifts back to smashing his face into his pillow, “Can I get you something else?”  
After a long time of waiting, he very softly says, “I wanna go flying with Grandpa.”  
“That, I can do.” 

“Goodnight,” Tommy presses a kiss to his temple, turns out the lantern, and moves to the stairs, “I love you.”  
As he turns, he hears Icarus mutter it back. He descends the stairs, walks past Charlie at the kitchen table, ruffling his hair. He quickly gets on his boots and slings his cape over his shoulders. He’s lucky Phil’s awake, sitting in his big chair and reading.  
“You alright, mate?”  
Tommy takes off his cape and boots with a great sigh, “Icarus wants to go flying with you.”  
“Why’d’ya look so damn sad about it? It’s just flyin’.”  
“It was second on his list of wants.”  
“After?”  
They make eye contact, Tommy looks distraught, “Seeing Dream.”  
“Right,” Phil exhales, puts his book aside, and gets out of his comfortable position, “Pull up a chair, I’ll make some tea.”  
They talk until the late hours of the morning, Tommy cries. For the first time in far too long, Phil comforts his son. Dream’s impact will last far longer. 

Phil takes Icarus flying. Tommy turns another year older. Icarus is happy all morning, helping around with any small tasks that needed to be done. Wilbur plays the happy birthday song on his guitar and they all sing. There are twenty-two candles crammed onto the cake. In July, Icarus will turn eleven. He does the math. When he was a baby, Tommy was his age. On his own, he could never take care of Clementine. Is that what it was like for Tommy? Was he taken home with Tommy too young? Is there a chance, however slim, that it was something like him being left alone with Clementine? He hates the idea that he hurt his dad. He hates the idea that he could have ruined his life. Dads are supposed to be old. 

Everyone celebrates. Phil watches Icarus flee to the top of the mountain when the celebrations are over and he joins him.  
“I don’t wanna talk.” The boy states with no room to budge.  
“Good, today’s been full of talking.”  
Phil just sits beside him, and when the wind picks up and carries too much cold towards the boy, he unfurls a wing and wraps it around him. Icarus falls asleep against him, only opening his mouth to ask him to stay at his house tonight. Phil brings him in, tucks him in on the couch, and heads to bed himself. He wakes up to the boy wide awake but still curled up on the couch. Phil offers him a hug, he takes it. He holds his grandson, cradling him like he used to do with his sons. The boy cries. When he manages to get an answer for why, Phil nearly cries himself.  
“Dad isn’t even _old_.”  
Phil takes him flying more. He shows him how to pick up speed if he ever falls. They practice over water. 

With more visitors comes more work. Charlie doesn’t take too well to the influx of strangers, so he ends up avoiding busy days, while Icarus watches his perch every day. Tommy actually enjoys having something to do, and he and Wilbur take up looking after the library most days. And most visitors are kind, it makes everything fairly serene. The only messy thing is Charlie and Icarus’ relationship. Icarus spends time playing with Percy and Michael, content to read while they draw or mess around with simple Redstone. Charlie is almost never around. He goes with Karl and Quackity wherever their adventures take them, he helps Niki around her bakery, and gathers supplies with Puffy whenever she needs them. They share Wilbur’s attention, and surprisingly his presence helps them get along. When Wilbur’s gone they either ignore each other or start yet another argument. Charlie’s grown tired of it, Icarus has grown tired of it. Tommy has no clue how to fix it. 

One morning, Charlie announces he and Wilbur will be going on a day trip in about a week’s time to go to Fundy’s and collect mushroom blocks for something Charlie wants to make. Icarus almost loses it.  
“You’re going to a mushroom biome without me!?”  
“Yeah, why?” Charlie is so nonchalant about it that gets on Icarus’ nerves.  
“I’m an adventurer! I’ve wanted to see it for so long! And you’re seeing it first?”  
Stopping and staring at Icarus, Charlie finally breaks, “Is that what this is about!? You just want to one-up me again!?”  
“I want to see it! I want to see it!” Icarus flaps up to meet Charlie’s eye level.  
“You _can_! Just not _then_! I’m going with Wilbur, we’re going by _ourselves_ and you can’t come.”  
With a shout, Icarus elevates above his brother’s head, “You’re always leaving me out!”  
Immediately, Charlie snaps, raising his voice much louder than before, “I have my own life!”

“If you want your own life so bad then you should have minded your business when you saw me on Cat!”  
Charlie’s eyes widen, his jaw tightens. Shutting his eyes so he can’t see Icarus, he turns on his heel and walks into the library. Icarus watches through the window, watching Charlie march right up to Wilbur and place his head on Wil’s shoulder. Wil gives him a smile and a huff, patting his shoulder lightly. He can’t help being jealous. Charlie’s everybody’s favourite, and he has so many favourites that Icarus isn’t even one of them anymore. He flies up to sit by the camarvan. Sulking, he knows he crossed a line today. He cries, silently. Whether it’s from jealousy, frustration, or sadness, he can’t tell. 

“Icarus?” A voice he hasn’t heard in years speaks to him, he barely remembers the sound.  
He turns around to a pair of adults, both with dark wings. One woman, one man. The woman’s hair is shoulder-length, wavy, and soft mousy brown, her eyes are a piercing sky blue. The man, substantially taller than the woman, has _curls_. Black ringlets fall over his dark cloudy eyes. Their expressions are carefully calculated. When they share a look, the man puts a hand on the woman’s shoulder and urges her forwards. Icarus is stunned to silence, his body goes rigid. His biological mother hugs him very gently, he cannot feel any of the affection he feels from his family. It’s performative, but he can’t bring himself to speak.  
“Oh, Icarus, we thought you’d died! When you wandered away from camp, I didn’t know what to do!” Icarus can’t tell if her tone of voice betrays lying or not.  
Louisa takes a hand and uses it to extend Icarus’ wing and get a look, August tuts behind her.  
“Have these people been watching you? They’re letting your wings get too long.”  
“Come on, sweetie, let’s get you home.” Louisa uses a guiding hand against his back to usher him away from the Sanctuary.  
He looks back for a moment. He is both terrified to go with them and terrified to go back home. 

By the time Charlie calms enough to go apologize, he’s long gone. Charlie knows he needs to apologize, Wilbur had told him as much. Icarus must be somewhere nearby, he lets Wilbur give some random travellers a tour and goes searching. He’s nowhere. He messages Tubbo, asking about him, and nothing. He messages Eret, nothing. He searches everywhere, every inch. Icarus is gone. In an instant, his head feels _too loud_ , like he’s being shouted at by a million different people. He rushes for Wilbur, trying to remain calm.  
“Wilbur.” Charlie states simply and quickly.  
Wilbur’s charming smile waves him away for a moment, “Just a second, Charlie!”  
“Wil.” This time he adds urgency.  
“Charlie, one second, please” Wilbur’s tone is gentle, and Charlie does try and wait.  
Until he starts to panic and does the only thing he can think of, “Uncle Wilby!”

Wilbur turns, confused, and then something in Charlie’s body language must give away the severity of the situation.  
“Got your attention? Great! Icarus is fucking missing.”  
Wilbur apologizes to the guests, and within fifteen minutes half the server is at the Sanctuary working out where he could be. They start at the sanctuary and move quickly. Tommy and Charlie are forced to go home and wait. Wilbur has to drag them back kicking and screaming. It’s smart, in case he shows up at home, but they’re quite possibly the most confrontational duo on the server. Like father, like son. Sitting at the kitchen table and waiting is almost agony. 

When Icarus goes with the man and woman, he realizes they must have been at the historical sanctuary for a bit of adventure. They’d always been travelling when he was very little, seeking out new sights. Nausea and guilt pit in his stomach. Half of him wants to go back, half of him wants to push forward. They are technically his parents. Tommy is much too young for four children, Charlie has no more time for him. Maybe it will be nice. He vaguely remembers the sadness and terror at being left alone by the ravine where he met Tommy. Most days he tries not to think about it. He was so sure they’d left him there and flown over. But...But now they wanted him again. There were no other children for them to look after. Finally, he could shed his feeling of being left out. Of being burdensome. 

Icarus doesn’t remember avian hybrids needing their wings clipped as children, but Phil was very old, he must have forgotten it was mandatory and forgotten to tell Tommy. He tried to tell her he didn’t want it, but she told him that all little avian children need to have their flight feathers clipped to make sure they don’t get hurt. They spent a long time telling him it was the proper thing to do. That if he wanted to go back with them he had to follow the rules and not get lost again. He remembers them leaving him, but they tell him he had left the camp they made and wandered off. That he’d done something very bad, and that they had to be extra safe. They’re adults, they surely wouldn’t outright lie. August and Louisa are very nice. He misses his dad and says as much out loud. August hugs him, tells him he’s there. Tommy isn’t around though. Without him, he doesn’t feel completely safe. 

After a few hours, he ends up telling his “Mom” about Charlie, and their fight. She says he’s mean, that it was unfair, he didn’t deserve to be yelled at. It’ll all go away, she says. For some reason, he believes her. So long being apart doesn’t mean he didn’t miss her, but there was never any love in her voice. Not even now. Maybe he was remembering his fall into the ravine wrong? Maybe Tommy had stolen him? But Tommy...he wasn’t...he wasn’t a bad guy? Not like past Eret, not like Dream. Tommy was good. He made him happy! But...lately, he’s been sad. His old parents would do just fine, wouldn’t they? When he looks in the mirror after his “Dad” clips his feathers, it looks wrong. He wants to throw up. “Dad” comforts him, giving him another shallow hug. He feels cold, Tommy’s always been warmer.  
They leave, oh god, they’re leaving. They make it past Badboyhalo’s house, and then...water. 

“Oh...Guess we have to go around…” Icarus mutters, fingers messing with the dull edges of his feathers.  
“Why would we go around? I can carry you just fine.” August says, he pats Icarus on the back and Icarus tries not to instinctively jump.  
“But...There’s water! If something goes wro-”  
Louisa bends down and cups his cheek, it feels so much less than tender or gentle, “You’re just a little boy sweetheart! You don’t have to worry about bad things!”  
Icarus stares at the blue sea and remembers the story of another little boy called Icarus.  
“...I wanna go home.”  
“That’s where we’re going,” Louisa says, standing again.  
“No-I-Please, I want to go home.” He tugs on her sleeve and pleads with her, the nausea comes back full force.  
“We’re _taking_ you home sweetie!” When Icarus meets her eyes there is nothing loving behind them, his eyes well with tears. 

“No-You-I wanna go back! I want my dad! I want Charlie!” He begins to cry and clutch onto the woman’s sleeve, she pulls away.  
August takes him by the shoulder and spins him around to face him instead, “He hurt you though, didn’t he? Isn’t that sad? He doesn’t like you anymore, and we like you just fine, just come with us! I can carry you!”  
“I-” Tears are rolling down his face now, and terror begins to set in.  
“Stop crying, you’re fine. Let me carry you, it’ll be safe.”  
“Please-Please can I go-” With one last plea, the pair of adults drain away the hope in his eyes.  
“No. Come here.” August commands, unwavering in his tone.  
He stands there for a moment, clutching the green fabric tied around his wrist.  
“Icarus. Come here.”  
Three steps stand between him and probable doom. He takes them. August picks him up, carrying him like the child he is. He tries not to shake in fear.

“Shh, it’s okay baby. You’re alright.” The man whispers, taking off and moving above the water.  
“You ran away once, you never will again, right?” Louisa asks, taking off immediately after.  
“No…”  
August’s hold on Icarus loosens slightly, and he smiles at the boy, “Good, good, running away is very bad. You made us very upset. No more running.”  
“Hold-Hey! Hey! I’m slipping! Hey!” Icarus cries out, grabbing onto the man for dear life.  
“Slipping? You aren’t slipping! Your dad has you very secure!” Chuckles Louisa, watching the boy clutch onto her husband.  
Then, he slips more, August’s hold lightens, “No-No-No! No! No! No! Stop! Stop! I’m gonna fall, please-I-my wings! I-”  
Icarus makes eye contact with this man, and he sees no kindness, “You won’t fall.”  
“I will! You’re-You’re _dropping me_!” He cries out, both adults lose their smiles and after a moment their tones turn uncaring. 

“You want me to drop you? I will if you keep complaining.” August says calmly, barely keeping hold of the boy.  
“No-No-Don’t drop me! Please! Please! I’m-I’m sorry!” As hard as he tries, Icarus can’t hold onto the man forever.  
As one last final shred of hope, he looks to Louisa, who in turn rolls her eyes and raises her voice, “Just drop him, August!”  
And that’s it. He falls. It’s apparent. He will die here. As he plummets from the sky into the water and watches the pair of adults fly away he _sobs_ and _screams_. He’s overtaken by the waves. His flightless wings are submerged, and he screams for help, scrambling to keep his head above water. With one final gasp of air, the current drags him under. 

The search for Icarus has been tireless, much more for some than others. Everyone on the server was called to help find him. The sun is setting now, and Dream is getting nervous. Technically, Tommy had told him not to go looking. Since when did he listen to Tommy Innit? Icarus was a sweet boy. He had helped him out when he first came back and Dream felt the need to at the very least repay the favour. Many wouldn’t be happy, but if he happened to find the boy, they wouldn’t have to know. Or, at least, that’s what he thinks until in the woods across from Bad’s house he watches two adult avians drop what appears to be Icarus into the ocean. He’s been dead long enough to know what water does to him. He dives in anyway. 

It burns. Dream knows it burns. He won’t let a kid die because of a little pain. He’s melting and fast. Willing all his life force into his arms and legs, he grabs Icarus by the middle and hoists him above the raging water. Kicking harder than he ever has, he tries to make it back to shore. Tiredness sets in so easily, but he can’t drop the kid. Not the kid. Not Tommy’s kid. There was so much love in Tommy’s anger when he was defending Icarus from him, and even if he can’t remember doing it, he can’t put Tommy through another tragedy. Another trauma. It’s this simple determination that gets Icarus to shore. He pulls himself up onto the dirt half dead. In his last moments, he rests Icarus on his side and messages his coordinates to the entire server. Before it all goes black, Dream prays for someone to arrive soon. 

Magically, Bad was home at the time. The man races to the coordinates, watching Dream’s laboured, past-out breathing. Watching Icarus’ tiny body shiver from the water. There isn’t a thought in his mind when he scoops up Icarus and holds him against the warmth of his chest. He has to make a decision here and now. He takes Icarus home and sends Skeppy out to get Dream. With a few plush towels, Skeppy’s hairdryer, and a dream, Bad dries off Icarus in record time. Skeppy returns with Dream, opening the door to see that Bad has wrapped up Icarus in heavy blankets and is holding him like a baby. Dream is put to rest, despite all the problems he caused in life, the pair hope he wakes soon. Skeppy sends out messages to everyone, they’ve found Icarus.

Within ten minutes, Wilbur, Phil, and Techno are at the door. Seeing his small form, curled up, shivering, and unconscious, sends the trio into a frenzy. Techno, the biggest of the group, moves first. Rushing Bad and swiftly taking the boy into his arm. He cradles his nephew like he is something so precious, staring at his tear-stained cheeks and holding him so gently. Wilbur takes one look at Icarus, one look at Dream, and nearly _fights_ the man while he’s knocked out. He assumes he’s involved and he shouts. He screams. After so many years, Wilbur never wanted to see someone so _young_ be so hurt _again_. It pains him, it pains him so greatly. Skeppy gives him something to throw, Bad never reprimands his swearing. Phil becomes analytical. He gets all the information he can from Skeppy and Bad, he looks over Icarus for injuries. When he’s untangled from the blankets enough for Phil to see his wings, everyone stands in shock. Flight feathers mercilessly clipped. Phil takes something to smash.

Techno carries Icarus all the way home, he walks in front of Wil and Phil. The pair is a few feet behind him, but their angry muttering at whoever caused this isn’t something Techno wants to partake in. Five years ago when he thought his little brother was gone forever, he was so angry. He wanted, no, he _needed_ revenge. Now, he just feels sad. First Theseus, then Icarus. Greek heroes never get happy endings, it’s what he always liked about them. Happy endings weren’t realistic. He’d never had one in his goddamn life. Until now. Tommy returning, Tommy bringing new family members, Tommy being alive and safe. That seemed like a happy ending to him. After a few months, he can finally admit how much he _wants_ it. In the past, he never really showed his affection in ways others understood. He hopes this is understood. He hopes walking for miles carrying this boy with a shell-shocked and deeply despondent look on his face is enough an expression of love. It is for the boy he never treated right, his little brother Theseus. It is for the boy who he hasn’t yet loved, his nephew Icarus. It is a promise to do better. 

Phil opens the door with a creak, Techno carries Icarus through the entryway.  
“Phil!? Do you have news!?” Tommy shouts, footsteps hurried racing across the wood floors and into the view of the other men.  
He freezes, looking at his son, and he _breaks_ , “My _baby_!”  
Tears overflowing from his eyes, Tommy races for Icarus, Techno and Tommy crumple to their knees and they hold him together. Tommy sobs, shouts, and screams. Wilbur joins near Icarus’ head, brushing hair away from the boy's face and wrapping an arm around his crying brother. On the other side, Phil unwinds his wings and wraps the five of them up in a large hug. Lantern light illuminates the front entryway where the scene takes place. Any brokenness their family had has been passed on, and it is a moment to grieve. Long after, when somebody asks about that night, only Tommy will admit that he cried. 

“Dad?”  
Charlie is standing at the end of the hall, eyes stained red from crying, hands shaking in fear. Tommy lifts Icarus from Techno and brings him to his older brother. Incredible self-restraint is used within Charlie, because he wants to grab for his brother and hold him and make sure he’s alive. Then again, he also wants to try and respect Icarus’ boundaries even now, that combined with his fear of two of the men standing at the door.  
“It’s alright, you can hold him.”  
Handed his little brother, Charlie stares down at his freshly-dried curls. Biting his lip, guilt washes over him and he has to sit down. This is his fault for fighting his brother. If he didn’t yell, Icarus wouldn’t look so weak. Wouldn’t look so tired. Percy comes racing down the stairs and grabs Charlie and Icarus so tightly. It’s not a shock to see him cry, Percy cries all the time. It is shocking, however, when Percy sticks his hand under the blanket and fetches out Icarus’ wrist. Despite it all, the little piece of green fabric is still there. 

There are no more words in the house that night. Everyone sits in the hallway. Everyone is quiet. Outside the navy-blue sky is splayed with stars, Charlie watches them from the hallway window. Every adult but Wilbur has fallen asleep. Wilbur brings down Icarus’ blue comforter for the boys and tucks them in against the wall.  
“The stars are out tonight,” Charlie whispers as Wil looks over Icarus once more before bed.  
“They’re very beautiful out here, aren’t they? ” Wilbur whispers back.  
Wilbur moves to go to sleep beside Tommy, tucked under an emerald green blanket against the wall. Tommy is in Techno’s lap, Phil has a wing wrapped around them. The golden light of the lanterns illuminates the dark wood of the floors. Charlie goes back to watching the stars in the window.

Icarus opens his eyes, sunlight beams down through the window. Within an arm's reach is Charlie. Unsleeping and _afraid_.  
“Charlie?” he struggles out, voice hoarse from inhaling water yesterday.  
Whipping his head down, the blond looks at his little brother, with a shuddering breath Charlie starts to cry, “Hi.”  
“I’m sorry,” Icarus barely gets out, “I didn-”  
Percy wakes, rubbing the sleep away from his eyes, and he perks up to listen to his older brother speak, “You don’t-I-Whatever happened, it wasn’t your fault. I shouldn’t-I shouldn’t have yelled at you.”  
Guilt coats Icarus’ expression, Percy reaches up and puts his hand on Icarus’ cheek. Charlie dries his eyes with his sleeve and smiles weakly at his little brothers.  
“I don’t want you to go,” Icarus cries out, whimpering and curling in on himself.  
“We aren’t going anywhere,” Charlie says, Percy nodding along.  
Somehow, Charlie manages to carry both his brothers to the kitchen. Phil and Wil are cooking, Tommy is talking with Techno. All four adults turn their heads. Wilbur serves the boys french toast with strawberries and syrup, Phil gives them each a cup of hot chocolate with whipped cream. 

After eating, the Innit family moves up to Icarus’ room. While Tommy goes to fetch Clementine, Charlie takes Icarus and Percy into his lap. All three are quiet, propped up against the bed frame.  
“Can I tell you another secret?” Charlie asks Icarus, who looks confused for a second before nodding.  
“I love you.”  
“I love you too.” Whispers Icarus, fiddling with the piece of fabric around his wrist.  
“Love you.” Percy chimes in, putting his wrist next to Icarus’.  
Charlie moves his as well, they all stare at the thing that ties them all together. Tommy enters, sitting across the bed, bouncing Clementine up and down on his knee. He adds his wrist to the pile. Percy starts to giggle, which queues Clementine to laugh along. Despite it all, Icarus musters out a small smile. 

Tommy puts Icarus on bed rest for two weeks after his near-death experience. Icarus assumes he’ll be there alone. It couldn’t be further from the truth. Charlie is sat on guard in his room nearly every hour of the next two weeks. Percy always brings him back little trinkets, flowers, drawings, or rocks from his playdates with Michael. Tommy brings in Clementine to cuddle with him and will sit with him whenever asked. Wilbur brings in his guitar and teaches him a few simple chords, even if his hands are much too small to play. They compromise by playing duets with a guitar and his little drum. Phil, Techno, Tubbo, and Ranboo all come up and check on him regularly. Tubbo’s the most fun, mostly because he’ll let Icarus stand and walk around if Tommy isn’t watching. All of them are fairly normal visits, he doesn’t even anticipate the visits he gets from other adults. Badboyhalo and Skeppy come over first and they have tea together. Bad tells him about helping him when he got hurt, Icarus is thankful. Puffy, Niki, Sam, Karl, Quackity, Sapnap. Every adult on the SMP makes a visit to him in those two weeks most bring gifts. They’re called get-well gifts. Icarus likes them all. 

On the very last day of his bedrest, Tommy knocks on his door.  
“Icarus? Can I come in?”  
“Is someone here to visit?” Icarus sits up excitedly, expecting another visit from Wilbur or Bad.  
“Someone very special.”  
The door swings open, Tommy holds it and ushers Dream and George inside. Icarus’ eyes blow wide and he crawls to the end of his bed.  
“Dream!?”  
The man has distorted skin on his hands and arms, slightly darker than his typical grey skin, his voice is happy, “Hey Icarus, it’s good to see you.”  
Icarus stares at Tommy who is standing defensively by the open door, “Dad! You said I couldn’t see him!?”  
“He...Well, someone has to supervise. But, he saved your fuckin’ life, so I owe you this.”  
“You saved my life!?” The boy cries, and Dream chuckles before the atmosphere gets a little grimmer. 

Sitting with Icarus on the bed, Dream pats his shoulder, “I saw what happened.”  
“Oh…” They both look at the bedsheet, Icarus isn’t sure he wants to tell anyone what happened.  
“It’s your story to tell, I only told...y’know, the stuff that can’t be left out.”  
“Yeah…”  
“That’s not why I’m here though,” Dream’s voice lightens and the boy on the head, “When you get better I was thinking I could teach you about speedrunning. Parkour, MLG’s, anything you wanna learn.”  
Biting his lip, Icarus shrugs, “I don’t wanna take up all your time.”  
“I’ve got too much on my hands, don’t worry. I’m happy to teach you.” Tommy nearly strikes a nerve at the kindness in Dream’s voice, but the man risked his life to save his son. He puts up with it. 

“Ahem, Dream,” George clears his throat from across the room, nodding to the hallway.  
“Oh! Yeah! I brought you something!” Dream hops up, darting into the hallway and returning with something hidden under his hoodie.  
The hidden thing barks, Icarus looks to his dad, then to Dream, then to his dad again.  
“I was gonna get you a damn dog anyway! Dream just beat me to it!”  
From under his hoodie, Dream reveals a fluffy grey dog with a bright red collar. She’s fairly small, just out of puppy stage, but she barks happily.  
Icarus takes the dog into his lap, petting her excitedly which makes the pup wag her tail and bark in excitement. Giggling and smiling, Icarus looks at the tag on his collar for a name.  
“She doesn’t have any name! That’s no good!”  
“It’s blank so you can name her,” George says pointedly, Dream and Tommy nod along.  
Staring into the dog's big dark eyes, he wracks his brain of all the names he knows.  
“Well, Galatea’s greek innit? Like Icarus?”

The dog, lovingly called Lady Galatea by Icarus, is a perfect helper. When he goes to the L’Manberg Sanctuary, she follows along. He teaches her commands and when he goes to Puffy’s for therapy he shows them all off to her. Most adults carry treats for the calm and loyal dog, who acts as Icarus’ partner in crime. The mix of separation anxiety and past trauma weren’t great when people were busy, but Tommy and Puffy try to teach him that Lady Galatea will always be right by his side. One night, Techno reads the partners in crime the story of Galatea. She was the perfect woman, brought to life by Aphrodite to help Pygmalion feel less lonely. Icarus feels she has the most _perfect_ name. Every morning when he heads to the sanctuary, he flies Lady Galatea up to his perch. She basks in the sunlight as he reads all he can on anything he can. 

His first parkour lesson with Dream is watched from afar by Techno and Tommy. They mostly stand in silence watching Icarus attempt to make a multitude of jumps, Dream coaching him through them to try and get him higher and higher. Galatea sits in the snow and waits for her boy to come back down. When he falls he _screams_ , Tommy assumes he’ll have to help. Dream, however, catches him and soothes him. It was deviously smart of Dream to help his son with a fear of falling. Never again, Tommy thinks. Icarus is meant to fly, who gives a damn if he touches the sun as long as he never graces the water.  
“You think Dream’s a good influence on him?” Techno asks after Icarus starts up the parkour again.  
“I think the green bastard is growing on him and it’s wrong of me to stop him from having good experiences with Dream just because of my trauma.” Scoffs Tommy, folding his arms across his chest.  
“That’s very grown-up, Tommy.”  
“Oi! Fuck off, big man! I am not grown up! I am not old!”  
Pride fills Techno’s chest as he fights back a smile at Tommy’s yelling, “Whatever you say, Tommy.” 

After one particularly difficult jump, Icarus shouts and cheers for the first time in weeks, “Dad! Uncle Techno! Look! Uncle Techno! Dad! I made the jump! Uncle Dream! I did it!”  
“Let’s go!” Dream cheers.  
Tommy claps, smiling despite his emotional whiplash from his son calling Dream his uncle, “Very poggers!”  
“Good job, kid,” Techno calls, giving him a thumbs up.  
Icarus goes for the next jump, fails, screams bloody murder, and is caught by Dream. After a few minutes of petting Lady Galatea, he tries again. In reality, Techno just barely caught the jump. He’s been too busy staring into the Innit house. No matter what he does, he always knows he’s being watched from inside that house. The voices tell him so. 

Every time the voices tell Techno to look into the window of the Innit house, he does. Every time he makes eye contact with the eldest Innit child, hands shaking, glaring right at him. It must just be his eyesight when he sees rings of red in his eyes where bright blue should be. Maybe it’s the light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any and all feedback is appreciated!  
> I know this chapter has some sensitive subjects, if you feel anything should be added to the TW list, let me know ASAP and I'll add it! <3

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, I hope you've enjoyed the first chapter. Once again, any and all interaction is so so appreciated. <3


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